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THE 2003-04 Kelowna Rockets, which won the Memorial Cup hosted by our city, has been inducted into the B.C. Hockey Hall Of Fame.
WENDY’S Restaurants across the Southern B.C. Interior will be ready for another busy day on Wednesday as the owners and staff stage the annual Dreamlift Day fundraiser.
NEW STUDY puts a focus again on the affordability of buying a house in Kelowna, findings that are put into fiscal perspective by a local realtor.
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TUESDAY January 28, 2013 The Central Okanagan’s Best-Read Newspaper www.kelownacapnews.com
City parking Police await autopsy on stabbing victim fees will go up ▼ SUSPICIOUS DEATH
Jennifer Smith
Alistair Waters
STAFF REPORTER
ASSISTANT EDITOR
He was a father, a golfer, a fun-loving hockey player and reputedly a hard-working guy. A child of the Kootenays, Christopher Ausman is also being described as a pretty tough 32-year-old man by the many friends and family leaving thoughts, pictures and videos on the Facebook page set up to mark his loss. Yet something happened to Ausman in the early hours of Saturday that RCMP cannot or will not explain. An officer found his deceased body in a pool of blood on a Rutland sidewalk; nothing has come to light about the cause of his death since. “Certainly this is a suspicious death. There’s no doubt about that. This is a 32-year-old man who was found deceased, which is not normal circumstances,” said Const. Kris Clark, Kelowna RCMP spokesman in a press conference held outside the detachment Monday morning. “…We are left with very few other circumstances, yes,” Clark admitted when pressed to add the word “murder” to the description. He would go no further, refusing to answer more questions until the autopsy is complete. Ausman was spotted in the 100-block of Highway 33 a few hun-
The price of parking is going up in Kelowna—at least the parking the city provides. On Monday, city council approved an increase of 75 cents per hour for on-street metered parking, sending the price from 50 cents per hour to $1.25 per hour, part of a larger parking management strategy for the city. The increase is the first for metered parking in the city in 20 years, according to city staff. Off-street parking, now between 50 cents per hour and $1 per hour will have its base rate set at $1 per hour and daily off-street parking will have a base rate of $5 per day, instead of ranging between $3 per day and $5.20 per day. City real estate director Derek Edstrom told council it’s important to keep on-street parking more expensive than off-street parking to encourage drivers to use the local lots and parkades so there will be better turnover of spaces for people using businesses, especially in commercial areas such as downtown, Rutland and South Pandosy. The message resonated with all on council as it was supported unanimously. “I’m a firm believer that parking should cost more than public transit,” said Coun. Colin Basran in supporting approval of the new parking management strategy. He said while viewed as a percentage, the 150 per cent hike appears large, but in terms of dollars and cents, the 75 cent per hour increase is “not that great.” His fellow councillors and Mayor Walter Gray agreed, with several saying the increases are needed if the city is going to effectively manage parking, raise the revenues needed to provide more parking in future and provide better technology for those using it, such as pay stations where credit cards can be used, the ability to pay for parking using cell phone apps and even monitors in the pavement under parking stalls to provide information about available parking for the public. “There is also a bigger objective for the city,” said Mayor Walter Gray, alluding to Basran’s point. “Getting you out of your automobile (and onto public transit, walking or cycling).” The goals of the city’s new strategy, according to city staff, are to improve parking availability, ensure the system continues to pay for itself so general taxation is not impacted and improve customer service options. See City A8
offer much information Monday (right) on the circumstances that led to the death of Kelowna resident Christopher Ausman on a sidewalk along Highway 33 last weekend. dred metres from where it intersects Rutland Road. It was 2:06 a.m. and the officer who called it in is said to have been on a routine patrol. The spot sits mid-way down a block containing the Cadillac Lounge strip club, the Olympia Greek Taverna Restaurant, a jewelry store and a vacant storefront. Only the lounge and the 7-Eleven convenience
store up the street would have had activity at the hour in question, but police have already found and spoken with several bystanders who were in the vicinity that evening. Kelly Ausman, Christopher’s younger brother, provided Global News with an interview stating he was at a poker game two blocks away just prior to his death and may have stopped at the 7-Eleven to
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get a hot dog, possibly being attacked on his way out. He does not believe robbery is a motive. Between the interviews, tips and video surveillance tapes collected
thus far, one can surmise a picture of what transpired is likely evident to police by this point. Police are still reiterating a plea for members
See Stabbing A8
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